10/02/2025
Hundreds of bikers showed up at the funeral of a boy no one wanted to bury because his father was in prison for murder.
The funeral director called us after spending two hours alone in the chapel, waiting for someoneâanyoneâto come and say goodbye to little TomĂĄs Lucero.
The boy had died of leukemia after a three-year struggle, with his grandmother as his only visitor, and she suffered a heart attack the day before the burial.
Social Services said they had complied, the foster family claimed it wasn't their responsibility, and the parish asserted they couldn't associate themselves with the son of a murderer.
So this innocent man, who in his final months wondered if his father still loved him, was going to be buried alone in a municipal grave with only a number on each headstone.
That's when MiguelĂłn, president of the Nomadic Riders, made the decision: "No child goes underground alone. I don't care whose child he is."
What none of us knew was that TomĂĄs's father, in his maximum-security cell, had just learned of his son's death and was planning to take his own life that night.
The guards had him under surveillance, but we all know how those stories usually end. What happened next not only gave the boy the send-off he deserved, but also saved a man who thought he had nothing left to live for.
I was drinking my morning coffee at the club when the call came. Emilio Pardo, the director of the Paz Eterna Funeral Home, sounded like he'd been crying.
"Manolo, I need help," he said. "I have a situation here that I can't handle alone."
Emilio had buried my wife five years earlier, treating her with dignity when cancer had left her bone marrow. I owed him a favor.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a child here. Ten years old. He died yesterday at the General Hospital. No one has come. And no one will."
"Foster child?"
"Worse. His father is Marcos Lucero."
I knew that name. Everyone knew it. Marcos Lucero had killed three people in a score-settling four years ago. Life in prison. It had been on every newscast.
"The boy had been dying of leukemia for three years," Emilio continued. "His grandmother was all he had, and yesterday she had a heart attack. He's in the ICU, he might not make it. The Community says they should bury him. The foster family is washing their hands of it. Even my team refuses. They say it's bad luck to bury the son of a murderer."
"What do you need?"
"Pallbearers. Someone to... to be with him. He's just a boy, Manolo. He didn't choose his father."
I stood up, determined. "Give me two hours."
"Manolo, I only need four peopleâ"
"You'll have more than four."
I hung up and played the sketch in the clubhouse. Within minutes, thirty-seven Nomad Riders were in the main room.
"Brothers," I said. "There's a ten-year-old boy about to be buried alone because his father is in prison. He died of cancer. No one claims him. No one will mourn him."
The silence was absolute.
"I'm going to his funeral," I continued. "I don't force anyone to come. It's none of the club's business. But if you think no child should go alone, meet me at Eternal Peace in ninety minutes."
The Old Bear spoke first: "My grandson is ten."
"So is mine," said Hammer.
"My boy would be ten," Ron murmured quietly. "If the drunk driver hadn'tâŠ"
I didn't need to finish.
MiguelĂłn stood up. "Call the other clubs. All the clubs. This isn't about territories or patches. It's about a kid."
The calls went out. Rebel Eagles. Steel Knights. Asphalt Demons. Clubs that hadn't spoken to each other in years. Clubs with bitter grudges. But when they heard about TomĂĄs Lucero, they all said the same thing: "We'll be there."
I arrived first at the funeral home. Emilio was outside the chapel, lost.
"Manolo, I didn't meanâ"
The roar interrupted him. First came the Nomads, forty-three motorcycles. Then the Eagles, fifty. The Knights, thirty-five. The Demons, twenty-eight.
They kept arriving. Veterans clubs. Christian bikers. Fans who found out about it on social media. At two in the afternoon, the Paz Eterna parking lot and three surrounding streets were packed with motorcycles.
Emilio's eyes were wide open: "There must be three hundred motorcycles."
"Three hundred and twelve," MiguelĂłn corrected, coming closer. "We counted them."
We were led to the chapel, where a small white coffin awaited, with a modest bouquet of supermarket flowers beside it.
"Is that all?" Sierpe asked, his voice raspy.
"The flowers are from the hospital," Emilio admitted. "Standard protocol."
"F**k protocol," someone muttered.
The chapel filled. Tough men, many with tears in their eyes, filed past the coffin. Someone brought a stuffed animal. Another, a toy motorcycle. Soon there were offerings all aroundâtoys, flowers, even a leather jacket with "Honorary Rider" embroidered on it.
But it was LĂĄpida, a veteran of the Ăguilas, who broke my heart. He placed a photo next to the coffin: "This was my boy, Javier. The same age when leukemia took him. I couldn't save him either, TomĂĄs. But now you're not alone. Javier will show you the way up."
One by one, the bikers spoke. Not about TomĂĄsâno one knew himâbut about lost sons, about innocence stolen, about how no child deserves to die alone for the sins of their father.
Then Emilio received a call. He came back pale.
"The prison," he said. "Marcos Lucero⊠knows. About Tomås. About the funeral. The guards are monitoring him for su***de risk. He asks if⊠if anyone came for his son."
The silence was total.
MiguelĂłn stood up: "Put it on speakerphone."
After hesitating, Emilio called. A broken voice filled the chapel.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Please, is anyone with my child?"
"Marcos Lucero," he saidâŠ
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See more: https://metacorepc.com/no-child-leaves-alone-btv/